Struggling in U.S., Curtis turns to European Tour

• By Ryan Ballengee
• Feb 10, 2012 12:23 PM ET

Without fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour, 2003 Open Championship winner Ben Curtis has turned to the European Tour to get his career back on track.

Winless since 2006, Curtis lost his PGA Tour card after a 2011 season in which he missed 13 of 23 cuts. Where his major credential is no longer valid on the PGA Tour, however, it still plays in Europe. All major champions have a 10-year exemption on the European Tour, which means Curtis is care-free on that circuit for two more seasons.

Following in the footsteps of 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, Curtis took up European Tour membership.

“My thinking is play wherever I can and got to play good,” said Curtis, according to the Associated Press. “I’m trying to take it one week at a time and play solid and not focusing on what everyone else is doing. Just trying to play good golf for myself, and hopefully that will lead to good results.”

Curtis still has partial PGA Tour status by finishing inside the top 150 on the money list, which could land him up to 20 starts this year. In the meantime, he is starting to see positive results. He is T-13 at the halfway mark in Dubai, and he finished in the money in the first two events of the Desert Swing.